School Counsellor

Job Description - School Counsellor - Jerrys Plains Public School (0000B2QK)

School Counsellor - Jerrys Plains Public School - 0000B2QK

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Location

Central & North Coasts - Newcastle & Hunter Valley-Newcastle, Hunter & Region

Number of Positions

1

Total Remuneration Package: Package valued at up to $182,461. Base salary ranges from $101,122 to $160,983, plus leave loading and employer's contribution to superannuation. Base salary rates above the minimum are available depending on experience. *Note there is no automatic progression to $160,983 - SCAC. Access to SCAC is available once a school counsellor has progressed through all salary steps and upon successful application for Advanced Certification level against the NSW School Counselling Service PPF.

They provide counselling and psychological assessment of students to complement and enhance the work of teachers to strengthen student learning and wellbeing outcomes, and they help families understand and manage their children’s learning and mental health needs. This is a truly collegiate role offering unique challenges and opportunities – both in your professional development and your ability to make an impact on the lives of children and young people.

The successful candidate will be based at Jerrys Plains Public School and provided with opportunities to work across the lifespan with both primary and high school aged students. Working as a school counsellor in a NSW public school will enable you to engage with a diversity of students (and school communities) like no other child and adolescent psychologist role can. This is a chance to use your skills to make a real difference in the lives of children and young people at a time in their lives when it matters most.

School counsellors receive regular, individual professional supervision with the Senior Psychologist Education and participate in group and peer supervision as a member of the broader district school counselling team. You will most likely be collaborating with a number of school communities and colleagues, as well as outside agencies, with the opportunity to use and expand the full range of your skills and expertise as part of a supportive, multidisciplinary team.

School counsellors are provided with regular opportunities to participate in continuing professional development and the NSW Department of Education will support you to complete or maintain your registration with the Psychology Board of Australia. Other benefits include school holiday leave, travel allowances and health and wellbeing benefits such as our Fitness Passport program. The department will also cover your indemnity insurance as a psychologist.

Built on the land of the Wanaruah people, Jerrys Plains Public School opened in January 1881. The heritage listed buildings date back to 1879. We are a dynamic and caring educational environment, providing students with access to quality programs within a varied and balanced curriculum. We see our students as individuals, and the curriculum is planned accordingly to cater for each child's specific needs. Our school is well resourced with excellent facilities for its students, including stimulating classrooms, covered playground equipment and large playground areas. Thirteen percent of our students recognise and celebrate their Aboriginal heritage. The local school community highly values the positive partnerships that exist with the school and willingly cooperates in order to assist in a variety of authentic learning experiences for their children. Parents, staff, students and community members share a strong sense of ownership and commitment to the ongoing development of Jerrys Plains Public School. Jerrys Plains Public School is a proud member of the Singleton Learning Community, where collegial practices among the nine schools ensure all students in our public education system benefit from improved outcomes, through strategic and targeted planning. School website: Jerrys Plains Public School

Specific Selection Criteria

- Experience in counselling using evidence-based interventions with a demonstrated understanding of the mental health needs of children and young people.

- Experience in the psychological assessment of children and young people, including case formulation and report writing.

- Demonstrated ability to collaborate with key stakeholders to improve the learning and wellbeing outcomes of children and young people including students from diverse backgrounds and needs.

Conditions

- Be a registered or provisionally registered psychologist, or eligible for registration with the Psychology Board of Australia.

- Ability and willingness to travel between worksites.

- This position is under the Teachers award ( Crown Employees (Teachers in Schools and Related Employees) Salaries and Conditions Award 2024 ). To be eligible to apply, you must have an unconditional, full approval to teach or have eligibility to apply for an approval to teach. If you do not hold a full approval to teach with the NSW Department of Education, you are required to commence the application process at the same time as you apply for this teaching opportunity.

This position commences on 27 January 2026

Successful applicants will be provided with a Departmental induction program, ongoing professional learning and professional supervision.

Find out more about working in the school counselling service. Visit the Department’s School Counselling Service pages to discover more about working as a school psychologist or school counsellor in NSW public schools.

Applicants are to include details of their WWCC clearance number as part of this application.

Applicants seeking either permanent full time or permanent part time employment are encouraged to apply for this position. If the recommended applicant is seeking permanent part time employment (FTE from 0.1 to 0.9 inclusive), they will be offered an appointment at their desired FTE. Applicants on the eligibility list will be offered the remaining FTE but are not obliged to accept. Further information can be found on the merit selection webpage.

About the NSW Department of Education

The Department of Education is the largest provider of public education in Australia with responsibility for delivering high-quality public education to two-thirds of the NSW student population. We welcome applications from all ages and genders, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, culturally and linguistically diverse groups, the LGBTQIA+ community, veterans, refugees and people with disability. If we can make some adjustments to our recruitment/interview process to better enable you to shine, please contact the Diversity and Inclusion Team (dandi@det.nsw.edu.au ) or visit NSW Department of Education Diversity and Inclusion.

New merit selection application guidelines for classroom teachers, executives and principals have been introduced to provide greater clarity to applicants and selection panels. The guidelines are located here. To ensure that your application complies with the guideline page limits, your attachments must be in PDF format.

Note: Applications must be lodged electronically. No paper-based application will be accepted

We pay respect to the Traditional Custodians and First Peoples of NSW, and acknowledge their continued connection to their country and culture.

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